Barrafina

Such a cute spot with counter-only seating, which keeps the environment intimate. It was late afternoon and we needed a bite to tide us over until dinner, so we were able to grab 2 seats. The service was quick and friendly and the hardest part was not stuffing ourselves!

- ham and cheese croquetas: piping hot and deliciously creamy on the inside. was tempted to order another round as soon as we took the first bite.
- tomatos and sardines: the tomatoes were flavorful and made me feel like I was picking them out at a market or farm. combined with the sardines and red onions it was a perfectly savory and salty bite.
- wild mushrooms: a delicious variety of mushrooms that were topped with 2 jammy eggs and a sauce that was reminiscent of gravy but not as thick. mushrooms and eggs separately are some of my favorite building blocks so this dish was heaven for me!
- chorizo special with roasted potatoes: the meat was deliciously spiced and paired perfectly with the potatoes and what I believe was a light mustard sauce. deceptively hearty for it's small size!

If you find yourself walking around London and happen across one of the 3 locations stop in for a bite!

What can I say about this place, except everything! We came here for my birthday dinner while in London. Our service was amazing, our server really went above and beyond. She gave us recommendations, which were all top notch. We had multiple plates, which were all outstanding. We had no complaints over the food or service. I like the only bar seating, because you get to watch the magic happening of the chefs. This is a must go to restaurant if you are ever in London. Definitely would make reservations to go and come with an empty stomach!

Highly recommend this place. Everything we had was absolutely fantastic. I don't even know what we ordered because we used the recommendations from our waiter and he didn't steer us wrong. I can't remember what type of fish but it was the whole fish and comfortably fed 2 of us. We were very pleased with everything we had. Definitely order about 5 things to share so you can try more items.

Made reservations for right when they opened at 5pm. We came in December when it was pretty chilly, at least for us. The main door is on Drury lane, the inside bar seating is nice and warm with hooks under the seating and coat hooks behind you.

The staff was very nice and greeted us as soon as we entered. I like the bar seating because it is right in front of where they prepare all the food. The time it took for our food to come out was pretty quick. Everything we had was really good! I especially liked the iberian ribs that just fell off the bone and really nicely seasoned along with the mashed potatoes under it and some crispy potato bits too. Be sure to try some of the specials that they have on the menu! The two we tried were really good and the dessert chocolate tart had a layer of caramel between the chocolate and the tart. It also came with a delicious if not slightly too sweet caramel ice cream.

I'd say definitely come early when they open and/or make reservations because they were really busy by the time we left at 6:30 or so

We were in London for 9 days and this was one of the best meals we had. I took the advice of another reader and ordered a couple daily specials. We went to the Adelaide Street location (it's down the block from an area where they were giving out free food to homeless people). Not the best location with so many homeless walking around. They didn't bother us. Just be warned.

- jambon iberico (9/10)
- special- crab croquettes (7/10)- crab was too mushy
- special- red millet friture- (10/10)- outstanding
- pan con tomate (9/10) - fully covered in yummy tomatoes
- gambas rojas (10/10) - the best and sweetest shrimp we have ever had in our lives
- arroz con mariscos- (8/10)- very good but not outstanding
-milk fed kidney and pork cheek (6/10)- the cheeks were enormous and we were full. A little dry)

We will definitely be back.

We came as a large group and ordered a bunch of stuff.

- squid ink rice, very evenly seasoned/dressed
- croquetas, chicken and ham
- Spanish tortillas, best part is there's a runny egg with the seafood inside
- pork belly bun
were the more memorable ones

The food here is fine, it's not "bad" by any means. But for the price it's not worth it in my mind. I think this place would be good for a corp event - large space and expensed :p

Barrafina is well known and I looked forward to trying this location at Convent Garden.

Everything is to share on the table.
Appetizers
Macrons Almonds 4 stars
Classic Tortillas 4 1/2 stars
Prawn Tortillas 4 1/2 stars

Queen Scallop Gratin 4 stars
Arron Negro 5 stars
Special of the day fish 5 stars
Stuffed Corguette Flower 3 stars
Fennel Blanco 4 stars
Iberian Pork Ribs 4 stars
Chicken Thigh and Romesco 5 stars-- this was the winner . Killer sauce!

Service - 4 stars
Ambiance 4 stars

Although there are a couple locations, We enjoyed this location very much!

Long overdue review. This place is located in the Soho area and is a relatively small restaurant with very limited seats. They have around 15-20 counter-only seats. I can't recall if they allow you to make reservations or not. But if they do, I strongly recommend making a reservation ahead of time. We waited for an hour or so to be seated.

They serve non traditional, more modern type tapas dishes. We opted for a few popular dishes that the server recommended, most of the tapas we had were decent. I particularly liked their squid ink rice (Arroz Negro), the texture of the rice and the flavor were on point. Pork belly was tender and well-cooked, skin was crispy but I probably wouldn't order that again. The only complaint would be the oysters, they were on the briny side but served a bit warm and slightly fishy for our liking. As for the drinks, I enjoyed my sangria.

All in all, it's a very cute spot! A modern Spanish restaurant located in the heart of covent garden. Ambiance is good. Location is just perfect. It's one of the most popular restaurants in Soho right now. Def worth a try in London!

Recently visited the Covent Garden location "on a whim" as I was strolling while my wife was shopping and remembered reading really good things about Barrafina. I can comfortably say "don't waste your time or money". I didn't have a reservation as I was rudely informed that I should have by the (British) hostess. The vibe was so unauthentic from the wait staff who knew very little about Spanish tapas to the music and most notably, the ridiculously high prices for very average tapas.

AMAZING!!!

The staff and food were great! Seafoods were fresh and cooked to the perfection. Non pretentious atmosphere. Simple but elevated cuisine style.